It’s finally finished – my caravan sewing machine cover!
To see more, just head on over to the post on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers Network. Here’s the link: Caravan Sewing Machine Cover
Hope it inspires you to make one of your own as everyone should have one!
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a free motion embroidery workshop for four lovely ladies who, very grudgingly, allowed me to take just one photo of them!
The workshop was a birthday present for the lady on the far right and, apart from the sewing, included lots of lovely tapas-style food and prosecco – not a good combination and, yes, one glass did get knocked over on the table!
None of them had ever attempted this type of machine sewing before but, after giving them a run through of the basics and a demonstration, they all managed to accomplish a few little samples.
If I remember correctly, the lady who created the brilliant musical notes below doesn’t even own a sewing machine!
About an hour in and after much laughter and false starts, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and got the hang of it – I love these seed heads.
My advice was to keep it simple to begin with and make sure the backing fabric isn’t too small to manoeuvre under the needle.
All the ladies said they thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and could see how addictive it could become.
I have dabbled a little, myself, with free motion embroidery, with things like this: –
But what I would REALLY love to do is something as fabulous as this! (image courtesy of DaysInDesign).
A course with Katie Essam is top of my wishlist right now…..
This month’s Minerva Crafts blog post is finished!
Just click on the link to see all about the Linen Look Cotton Tunic.
My Minerva Crafts sponsored make for February is this luxurious faux fur gilet. If you want to read the full article, things have changed slightly and you need to click on the link below which will take you directly to it on the Bloggers Network: –
https://www.minervacrafts.com/blogger-network/post/faux-fur-gilet
Let me know if it works and don’t forget to come back here and tell me what you think of it:)
(By the way – WordPress has just informed me that this is my 200th post!)
In the West Country the weather was awful this week and both the Saturday and Sunday football matches were cancelled. The dogs refused to set foot outside the front door and No. 2 Son didn’t want to go to the stables either which meant we had a rare weekend with both of The Boys and Mr H-L at home. This gave us the opportunity to do indoor ‘stuff’ (which doesn’t include technology) and I didn’t even turn my computer on – a reasonable excuse for my Sunday Sevens being late!
Hop over to Threads & Bobbins to see what Sunday Sevens is all about and how you can join in if you want to.
2. Mr H-L and No.1 Son worked from home a couple of days this week and this is what I rustled up for them at lunchtime. No wonder they’d rather not go into the office!
3. I spotted these beautiful crocuses (not ‘croci’ as it’s not derived from Latin!) on a dog walk at the beginning of the week before the dogs vetoed any further walks.
4. The dogs hate the wind and rain so much and this photo says it all really. Fifi climbed up onto the hearth and stared at us until Mr H-L obliged her by lighting the fire!
5. I managed to finish this month’s project for the Minerva Craft Blogger Network -a fur gilet with gold Paisley lining. A full blog post will follow next week.
6. I adapted the bobble hat pattern to make a beanie for No.1 Son in his requested colour, Olive Green. One row of cables was dispensed with so the hat was less pointed and more rounded like a beanie should be.
7. I was given this set of notebooks for Christmas, but they are so lovely I can’t bear to use them! They each feature a different vintage McCall’s pattern envelope on the front and back covers.
8. The inside pages are all different, too, some printed with paper pattern excerpts.
9. Yet another bobble hat was cast on, this time in navy blue for a birthday present for a good friend. Navy is NOT a great colour to knit with in the evening.
10. How do you get from a skein of wool to a yarn cake?
11. With a swift and yarn winder, of course! I treated myself to this quality wooden swift a couple of weeks ago to give Mr. H-L’s arms a break. 
12. The yarn winder was a Christmas present and, between them, they make short work of a previously tedious job.
13. I’m still managing to squeeze in a few rows here and there on the scarf to match my pink bobble hat which I made to match my Raspberry Pink boots:)
That’s all folks! Are you more productive in the Winter because of the enforced staying-in?
The other day I was browsing through the latest Love Sewing magazine after it obligingly popped through the letter box whilst The Boys were at football, meaning I could actually sit down for five minutes and read it without interruption.
The cover featured an inset photo with the model wearing a keyhole neck tunic which I rather liked the look of – not in mustard though, I can’t wear mustard.
After a quick glance at the line drawings, I thought I’d give it a go. Not being blessed with model-esque proportions myself, I don’t trust the photographs as I know it’ll never look like that on me!
I remembered some fabric that I had recently been given from a friend who was clearing out her studio which would be perfect for this top.
There were about four metres of thin, loosely woven cotton fabric which, according to the selvedge, was vintage Rose & Hubble.
The top came together pretty quickly and very easily. The neck keyhole opening was simply turned back twice to provide a narrow hem.
I narrow hemmed the bottom of the top, too, as it was such fine cotton.
I made some bias binding for the neck edge.
The pattern called for a continuous strip of binding around the front and back leaving a ‘keyhole’ neckline, but I fancied having ties at the front instead so extended the binding length accordingly.
The finished tunic fits my dressform pretty well. You can’t see the pleats because of the patterned fabric but you CAN see how low the front opening is!!
Sure enough, when I put it on, far too much cleavage was displayed. I do like how the front pleats are stitched down and draw the fabric in underneath the bust though, to stop the top hanging like a shapeless sack.
A vest top will definitely have to be worn underneath, which is a bit of a shame.
The shawl that Tajana made for me on a gift exchange (blogged about here) matches the blue in the tunic perfectly so, with a cardigan, it can be worn in the Winter too.
I’m not really a dark blue kind of person, but the shade is more Cobalt and is lifted by spots of red, white, yellow and green, so it feels quite cheerful and bright. The blue scarf stops the black cardigan from looking too gloomy, too, as I don’t like black next to my (almost) black hair.
Has anyone else made this top? What did you think of it?
We live in a lovely little village, not quite a hamlet because, by definition, a hamlet doesn’t have a church.
We have a church. And a village hall. Nothing else.
The pub is a twenty minute walk away in the next village which is great in the Summer. Not so on a cold, wet Winter’s evening when you fancy a pint.
I digress. The point is, being a small community of just 91 dwellings, people are friendly and generous and generally get on rather well. (Remember those flowers?)
A few weeks back, I had an email from an artist living in The Old Stables asking me if I would like first dibs on some textile-y things as she was having a clear out of her studio. Of course, I jumped at the chance and popped round that afternoon to have a look. I ended up coming home with a car load of stuff from fabric remnants a few yards long to tiny 4″ squares of silk oddments.
After being quite strict with myself, I kept only what I knew I would definitely use and, with her permission, bagged up the remainder for the charity shop.
There was also a bin liner stuffed to the brim with feather cushion pads which is where I made a start.
No.1 Son is now twenty-three, has his first post-graduate job and is saving hard for a deposit for his own house. He is also amassing quite a ‘bottom drawer’ in readiness for his new home, the most recent being this cute little Edwardian armchair from eBay.
Anyway, amongst the things I found when rooting through the stash of goodies I had been given, was a square of fabric from Anthropologie. Possibly a (very large) napkin in its original incarnation, it was unused with the store tag still attached.
A little bit too ethnic for my taste, I asked said son if he liked it and would he like me to make him a cushion cover from it. Having received a ‘yes’ on both counts, I set to.
There was a small carrier bag full of bits of top quality wool tweed in several shades of grey which were pretty useless on their own, but which I could see (!) would piece together to make a nice back to the cushion.
See? They go together quite well.
I patchworked some strips together until I had a square measuring 20″, the same as the front.
Then, because it still looked exactly like what it was – scraps of fabric sewn together – I added some detail in the form of turquoise top stitching along all the seams.
It was still a bit ‘functional’ so I thought a few appliquéd swirls wouldn’t go amiss.
And a few more….
There, that’s enough. Now it looks more like a piece of textile art than leftovers!
Using some turquoise linen (left over from this dress), I covered some piping cord in a shade that would pick out the blue in the Anthropologie napkin. See, there was a reason for choosing turquoise?!
Piping was basted on first…
…then a random zip from my collection was inserted.
The zip was too long so I shortened it by sewing a new ‘stop’.
Sew round the remaining three sides, turn inside out and – TADAH!
A tip is to make the cushion cover slightly smaller than the size of the feather insert, then it stays nice and plump like this.
The turquoise piping ties the front in with the back.
Actually, there’s not really a front or back as both sides are deserving of top spot!
I thought it looked quite at home in our lounge and said as much – at which point it was “Thanks, Mum” and whisked off to No.1 Son’s bedroom before I got too attached to it!
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series devised by Nat at Threads & Bobbins whereby you share seven photos of your week. It’s a great way to keep blogging when you don’t have enough for a full blog post and we all get to know a bit more about the person behind the blog. Simple!
2. This gorgeous bouquet arrived “on behalf of all your friends in North Cheriton” – how lovely?
3. Home alone for lunch, this is my favourite way to use up ripe avocados.
4. Three down, two to go……it seems that everyone now wants a pom pom hat!
5. I WILL make time to transform this fabulous Alpaco/Silk laceweight yarn into a Summer cardigan in time for Spain in May.
This is the pattern I’m using which you can download for free at Artesano.
6. Mr H-L and I went for a pub lunch in The Nog Inn, Wincanton. The dogs instantly curled up in front of the wood burner. I made Mr H-L put his lovely wool coat on the flagstones for them to lie on:)
7. These camouflage trousers are a sample to show my eight year old boys what they will be making after they finish their back packs. Do you think flap pockets are a bit ambitious for a second-ever sewing project? That’s the great thing about kids – if you tell them they can do it, they believe you and just get on with it!
8. You haven’t seen one for a while, so here’s a typical lesson underway. There are usually four in each class, but sickness has claimed a few recently.
9. Saturday morning and these two landed on the doormat! Time for a break.
10. Brunch this morning. Don’t even think about mentioning the rights or wrongs of wine before midday. And who has heard the latest about black pudding being considered a superfood? Yay, recognition at last!
Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series started by Nat from Threads & Bobbins. Why not pop over and see how you can join in?
Guess I’ll have to buy a darning mushroom:(
2. We had some late Christmas presents in the post all the way from America (thanks Robin!) – The Boys were thrilled as you can see from their expressions.
3. This beautiful pheasant has decided it’s safer in our garden than in the fields beyond. I managed to snap it on my iPhone on full zoom, hence the poor quality.
4. I’ve started another bobble hat for a cousin who saw it on Facebook and fancied a pink one.
5. Mr H-L’s father died on Friday. He waited until we popped out for lunch and we got the call whilst we were eating pudding. We toasted his memory with a glass of his favourite whisky.
6. I’ve got a bit behind with my sewing so spent all weekend up in my sewing room trying to catch up. It’s good therapy, too.
7. No, it’s not a dress, it’s the lining to my new green velvet coat!
8. Mr H-L has been keeping me supplied with refreshments. Not sure that red wine, Pringles and sewing are a good combination…
9. The hens decided that it was far nicer to be inside than wading around in acres of mud outside. They loathe the wind and rain and, if the door is left open for a millisecond, they’ll sneak in.
10. The dogs detest aren’t that keen on sharing their food with the girls so, as soon as they see a hen in the house, they race to their bowls and down the lot as fast as they can.
Sometimes not fast enough.
Right, back to the sewing room for me – just the hem and buttonholes to do!
Linking up with Nat over at Threads & Bobbins for another #sundaysevens – a blog post containing seven (in theory) photos of your life outside the blog.
1. Had a cosy breakfast with No.1 Son who was working from home.
2. This utterly gorgeous alpaca fur Pom Pom arrived from Toft…. 
3…….and this is the hat that it will sit on.
4. I like to make samples in advance of a project for my students to show them what they will be making next and how they can make it individual to themselves. I chose a patchwork cotton and trimmed it with some vintage lace from my stash.
5. I managed to track down another Janome 3300 to match the other three in my sewing school. They were discontinued (and therefore discounted) at the time, and I could only get three. I have been hoicking mine down from my sewing room for each class, which has been a right royal pain in the bum.
6. My latest project for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network – a bottle green crushed velvet coat with dark red Paisley lining and horse head buttons. Nothing run-of-the-mill about this! 
7. His niece from Hong Kong sent my father-in-law a sensory activity cushion designed for dementia sufferers, specifically tailored to his interests in which music played a huge part. 
8. Took the family out for a meal to celebrate No.1 Son’s 23rd birthday (top right with the beard). 
9. Daughter’s boyfriend managed to actually eat every last morsel of this ENORMOUS double burger! 
10. No.2 Son got tired. Luckily, daughter was wearing a blanket scarf and N0.3 Son brought his cowboy hat with him. Don’t ask. 
11. Uncle T was over from France so they all went to watch the latest Star Wars yawn film. 
12. I would rather eat my own liver than suffer even five minutes of Star Wars, so I spent a lovely couple of hours listening to La Traviata whilst cutting out my coat pattern in front of a roaring fire. Heaven! 
Oh yes, nearly forgot to mention that I’ve also bitten the bullet and joined the Instagram revolution as “Sewchet” – come and say “Hi” if you like:)
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